Commissioners approve temporary hiring freeze for Garfield County
Garfield County commissioners on Monday unanimously approved a temporary hiring freeze for administrative positions, citing budget constraints and a potential $9 million shortfall.
The freeze took effect July 21 and is valid until Dec. 31, 2026 unless rescinded by the board, closing advertisements for administrative positions posted prior to July 21 across all Garfield County departments and offices. All full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal positions, excluding elected officials and department directors, are included in the freeze. However, the resolution does not apply to those who received a written job offer from the county prior to July 21.
The county is working to address an anticipated $9 million shortfall due to a decrease in oil and gas activity resulting in lower property taxes, according to a Tuesday news release. The hiring freeze would help the county reduce personnel costs while providing an opportunity for officials to assess staffing needs and resources in terms of the county’s long-term goals, according to the resolution.
“We are serious about this $9 million shortfall and how we’ll address that,” Jankvosky told the board Monday. “I believe as a board, we will find out, as we talk about this resolution, that we would like to have a hiring freeze right now so we don’t have positions completely filled in January and have to lay people off.
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“This is more or less protection for our existing employees, so they’ll know not only that their jobs are secure but that we will have a merit increase in that as well, a cost of living merit increase,” he added.
County offices and departments will submit their 2026 budgets to the finance department on Aug. 8, according to the release, at which time officials will have a better understanding of potential revenues and expenses.
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